St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-03
Death of a Former State OIL
ciaI Whose Career Was
Rather Checkered.
Railway Commissioners make
Several Appointments
Subway Ordinances.
Gossip Gathered in the Hotel
Corridors on a Rainy
Day---Notes.
NEEDLESS WASTE OF LIFE.
Prevalence Of Typhoid Fever, ST
Health Commissioner Jones

Health Commissioner Jones
Says.
AppropoS of the monthly mortuary
report just issued 10y the department OF
health, a GLOBE reporter interviewed
Or. Jones. commissioner of health. yes
terday, regarding the general health Of
the city, especially with respect TO con-
tagiouS diseases. He said in substance
that al present the general condition of
the public health was good and the out
look for the immediate future promiS-
ing. except in one particular-typhOid
fever was becoming far TOO prevalent.
Be patient a moment" said the doe
tor, land | viii give you the statistics.
You viii see that there WAS one death
from scarlet fever and three from
diphtheria during jUly. and three
deaths from scarlet fever and three
from diphtheria during the month of
August. There is nothing very alarm
ing in these figures, when we remem-
Der that our population is 100000.
Measles, which is ordinarily considered
q disease devoid OF danger, has pre-
vailed in ST. Paul during the past five
months in peculiarly severe. l might
say malignant. form, and has
been the immediate or remote
cause of quite a number
Ol UtdlllS dIiOlIS tiiluIGn. i WtlS con-
fined to no particular locality, but oc-
CURED in widely separated districts.
Which denotes the absence Of any purely
local origin. The type of the disease
was so severe that many physicians al
most dreaded to be called to a case, and.
while many deaths occurred directly
from the violence of the disease, many
little patients Succumbed to its Sequela,
or after effects, as for example, cOnges-
ton of the lungs, bronchitis, pneumonia,
etc. 1t is gratifying, however, to be
able to say that the disease is now de-
cidedly on the Wane, and, it is to be
hoped, will i'll short time diSap-
pear altogether. There were ten deaths
from this cause in May. thirteen i'll
June, seven i'll July and none in Au-
gust"
But one woe treads fast on the heels
of another While there has been
marked decrease in most contagious
diseases, unfortunately there is one
typhoid fever-Which shows
A DECIDED INCREASE.
During the month of August there
We're twenty-One deaths from this dis
ease, as compared with fourteen for the
corresponding month in 1886, and FIVE
for the same month in 1884. Such a
large number of deaths from a single
disease during one month, should
always be carefully investigated by our
health authorities, and this has recently
been undertaken. A careful inquiry
into the death of these twenty-one per-
sons only tends to confirm what have
so often called attention to in the past,
that the most influential factor in the
cauSatiOn of typhoid fever is the drink
ing OF impure well water. Doctors dis
agree on many matters, it is true, but
there IS consensus OF opinion among
the medical profession with regard to
the danger of taking typhoid fever from
using the drinking water from any well
III as p0pulOuS q city as st. Paul. That
much sickness is attributed TO the use of
impure drinking water, is now no
longer matter OF speculation; it has
been demonstrated time and again by
evidence of the most conclusive kind.
Often. however, the effects of impure
water, like the effects of Eimpure air,
may engender an impairment of the
general health without giving rise to
any very well pronounced diseases
The water from hundreds of wells
i'll all localities in this city has been an
alyZed. and they have, almost without
exception, been shown to be danger
OuSly contaminated by organic impure
ties. The sources of well water contain
ilation in large city are almost infinite
IN number. These organic impurities
IL water are not seen, or tasted, OF
smelt. and it is, therefore, all the more
dlfffcult to persuade manly persons that
they are present at all. They continue
to use the water until some serious or
fatal illness induces them to have the
water analysed by chemist, when their
eyes are opened to its true condition.
Of the twenty-Gne persons who died in
this city last month from typhoid fever,
have carefully investigated the prob
able cause Of death in each case. and
the startling fact comes out that twenty
OF the number used the drinking water
from wells. and but one the water from
our lakes, supplied through our water
mains. Only the bald facts are stated,
and Intelligent persons may draw their
own differences. 1t is generally esti-
mated that about Is per cent. of all
cases of typhoid fever are fatal, and. as
there were tWenty-one deaths during
the month, it would indicate that there
were about HI cases of the disease in
the city at the present time. do not
pretend to say that
IMPURE DRINKING WATER
is the sole cause of typhoid fever, but
that it is the most common and infiuen-
tIal cause is generally admitted by our
highest authorities, both in this country
and Europe"
while other Zymotic diseases NAV
be produced in the same way, and from
the same cause, typhoid fever is par ex-
cellence disease of impure drinking
water. Cistern water is better than
well water in large city, and the water
from our lakes passing through the
water mains is best of all, as has been
repeatedly shown by chemical analysis,
Those of our citizens who reside in To-
calities not supplied by water mains, or
who have no cisterns, should always
thoroughly boil their well water before
using it. This will destroy organic i'm
purities, though it maks the water taste
trifie more hard. am glad to be in
teryiewed on this matter, and hope your
great journal will agitate this subject
and put the facts stated before the pub
lie. Nearly all deaths from typhoid
fever is so much needless sacrifice of
life, as it is clearly preventable dis
ease, and illness and death from this
cause would not occur if people took the
most ordinary precautions with refer
ence to their drinking water and general
sanitary surroundings"
EMIL MUNCH'S DEATH.